It is not always easy to describe whether what we feel is fear or anxiety. In reality, the emotion of fear is a symptom present in the clinical picture of anxiety, so since they are so similar, it is normal to confuse them. Furthermore, it is usually perceived eventually in a different gradation of intensity.
Both indicate the perception of danger and prepare our body to give an alarm response. In this sense, what varies is the intensity of the perceived danger and, consequently, the intensity of our reaction. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk in depth about what is the difference between anxiety and fear.
Anxiety is a emotional state associated with a condition of alertness and fear, generally excessive compared to the real danger. Even so, it is not an abnormal phenomenon, since it is a basic emotion that implies a state of activation of the organism when the subject perceives that he is facing a dangerous situation.
So what are anxiety symptoms? An immediate tendency to explore the environment in search of explanations and escape routes, as well as a series of physiological phenomena such as increased respiratory and heart rate, sweating or vertigo, among others.
When the activation of the body becomes excessive, this can produce an anxiety disorder that can affect and complicate the life of the person who suffers from it. In this article you will see what the .
Symptoms of anxiety
The anxious clinical picture manifests itself in many ways. Let’s see what the main symptoms of anxiety are:
- Nervousness.
- .
- Insomnia.
- Apnea.
- Easy to cry.
- Palpitations.
- Weakness.
- Stomach cramps.
In general, it is common for all people to have anxiety at some point in their lives, due to the overstimulation to which we are exposed. Even so, if they are properly motivated, anxiety becomes a temporary sensation. On the contrary, episodes of anxiety that arise without real justification are the origin of excessive reactions that characterize .
He is a emotion that arises in the presence of unexpected or imminent danger. Even so, it can also indicate an imaginary worry, apparently not linked to a real dangerous situation.
It should be noted that fear is one of the and has an adaptive function that protects the individual against a danger or threat (real or imaginary). From the first years of life, it performs fundamental evolutionary functions and without this mechanism we would continually be putting our safety at risk.
Symptoms of fear
How does fear manifest? Below, we show you its main symptoms:
- Increased heart rate: allows the person to react faster. The heart increases its activity to increase blood flow and quickly send sugar and oxygen to the body.
- Increased breathing: Tight muscles in the body hinder the expansion of the lungs. The rhythm of breathing changes.
- Tingling, numbness, and hot flashes: The increase in blood pressure is perceived mainly in the extremities. This activation produces redness of the skin and heat to which the body responds by cooling itself through sweat.
- Muscular stiffness: all muscles tend to stiffen. They are tense because they are ready to jump if necessary.
- Goosebumps: Muscle contraction also affects skin tissues.
- Obfuscation, narrowing of the visual field and dizziness: Increased pressure can cause a feeling of dizziness. The pupils of the eyes dilate to facilitate focusing.
- Digestive disorders, nausea and abdominal disorders: digestion is interrupted and the corresponding energies are used to activate the body against danger.
- Confusion and daze: the focus of attention is placed on the danger and any other thoughts are dissociated. You can perceive a strangeness about yourself.
Anxiety and fear, although they have a very strong link, are not the same. Let’s look at the main differences between fear and anxiety.
1. Who experiences it
Do all living things experience fear and anxiety? Let’s see it:
- Fear is a state that animals also feel and experienceespecially mammals.
- Anxiety is an emotion typically humanevolved from fear, parallel to the progression of our cognitive capacities of imagination, anticipation and design.
2. Shape
The way we perceive fear and anxiety is different. We show it to you below:
- When we are afraid, the threat or danger we encounter is clear and well defined in our eyes, that is, the object of our fear is well focused.
- When we experience anxiety it is much more difficult to focus on the origin and purpose of our experiences. In fact, anxiety can be described as a state of open worry, for example, in a certain area of our life, without reference to anything specific and determined.
3. Duration
Although the sensation experienced is similar, its duration is different. Let’s look at the difference between anxiety and fear in terms of duration:
- Fear is activated in the face of real danger and, once the threat ceases, disappears.
- Anxiety can be activated by real danger, but also by a perceived threat, that is, non-tangible and shared, often vague and ill-defined. The feeling of danger lasts longer due to the difficulty of identifying the causes.
When it comes to differentiating this aspect, for example, many of us experience fear when we are near a cliff, but we know that not everyone is afraid of getting on the crowded tram in the morning.
4. Perception of symptoms
As for how they manifest themselves, both fear and anxiety are accompanied by physiological symptoms, but their duration is different. Let’s see when they manifest and disappear:
- The symptoms of fear tend to decrease when the stimulus in question moves away and we no longer feel threatened by him.
- In the case of anxiety, the subjective experience and its physiological modifications tend to last longer and decline more slowly. People often describe being in a state of general tension. A “feeling alert” as if something negative was going to happen at any moment.
5. Facial expression
Fear is a basic emotion that provokes a universal expression and innate from the moment we are born, even in the case of blind people who have not been able to learn it by imitation.
On the contrary, anxiety It doesn’t show up in just one way. and each person can manifest it in a different way, so sometimes it can be more difficult to recognize it with the naked eye.
6. Reaction
In relation to the previous section, fear and anxiety can cause different reactions. On the one hand, the first reaction of a person experiencing fear when faced with a threatening stimulus will be run away and walk away as quickly as possible from there. In cases where there is no escape, however, fear can cause us to remain paralyzed or even try to confront the conflict.
People with anxiety, on the other hand, will only need a small activation so that it continues to have the function of alerting us, but without becoming incapacitating. Thus, in cases where anxiety is very high, the person may have problems reacting appropriately to their problems and day-to-day situations.
7. Time of appearance
Another way to differentiate anxiety from fear is to know that, generally, fear appears when faced with a stimulus that provokes an immediate reaction.
Anxiety, on the other hand, It usually appears when thinking about a future situationthat is, an event that has not even occurred yet.
8. Type of treatment
Because both the reactions they cause and the brain process that is carried out in anxiety and fear are very different, the treatment that must be carried out to help reduce the symptoms will also be different and must be adapted to each case.
The technique that has shown the most effectiveness in reducing a person’s fear is live stimulation to stimulus that causes that fear or phobia. However, to reduce anxiety symptoms it is best to resort to cognitive restructuring.